Yesterday I sent a letter to my Congressman Virgil Goode in response to his letter to his constituents about the dangers of allowing Muslims into this country and electing Muslims to Congress. Thought y'all might enjoy taking a look:
Dear Congressman Goode,
I am writing in response to your recent letter to your constituents concerning immigration issues and the election of a Muslim, Congressman-elect Keith Ellison, to Congress.
I must admit that I am stunned to hear such blatant bigotry from my representative in Congress. I am at a loss to understand why it is important that we stop American Muslims from being elected to Congress. In your letter you recalled a meeting with a Muslim student who asked why you do not have anything on your office wall related to the Koran. You told him, "As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, the Koran is not going to be on the wall of my office." I can only assume, based on your response to this student, that you do not consider Virginia's Muslims to be your constituency. The message many will receive from this statement is that you choose to represent only the Christians of Virginia. The implication of this statement is that Virginians of other faiths are inherently less Virginian and less American because they are not Christian. It is disheartening to know that Mr. Jefferson's ideal of religious freedom has not yet been realized in our Commonwealth.
Your position on immigration is another thinly veiled attempt to discriminate against anyone of Middle Eastern descent. Are you opposed to the immigration of citizens of Germany, or of Japan, or of the United Kingdom into the United States? Is America only open to those of means, or to those from the "right" countries?
My family were immigrants from Germany and Switzerland. They arrived in this country as early as 1727. They settled in Pennsylvania where they were free to practice their Lutheran and their Mennonite faiths. They built farms and raised families. They fought in the Revolution. They built churches using nothing but stones from their fields, lumber from their forests, and sweat from their brows. They built creameries and mills. They established community banks. They fought in World War II. They became teachers. They worked on the railway, in the factories and in the fields. They built homes and businesses. They participated in local politics and did community service. They helped to build this nation.
Is this a dream we are to deny a person based solely on their place of birth or the color of their skin or the religion they practice? Is this the America my family helped to build? It is not the America I know and love, and it is not the America I want to leave for my children.
Sincerely,
[Mahanoy]